Does suboxon block the effects of other drugs other than opoid type subtances?

In my experience I tapered down from methadone to 20mgs a day waited 72 hours until taking suboxone. I felt dope sick briefly then normal the rest of the day. 36 hours latter I took my prescription ambien, a whole 30mg's of it, it did barely anything like it normally does. Also the effect of taking benzo's has also weakened, it must be some sort of indirect blocking of other non-opoid receptors, whats the deal!!!

Added 18 Jul 2011:

I thought i liked this forum but anytime i comment i son't see anything is there a delay for comments to be sensored

Responses (3)

AN

Anonymous17 Jul 2011

Unfortunately you didn't list how many mgs of suboxone you took, and that would help. Subs (that is an abbreviation we use for it) does NOT block other meds like benzos, sedatives, or muscle relaxers, in fact, it can combine and cause one's breathing to slow or stop, and no one needs that to happen. Possible explanations are that you took over 8 mgs of subs or took it later than 2:30 pm. I hope you will hit comment and list how much you took. Subs can produce an extreme energizing zing that will make you decide to clean your whole house or get involved deeply in a project. Did that happen after you started feeling better? We are a support group here, no one will judge you, are you under a drs care. If you aren't (again no judgment) and obtained it from an ... ahem... unlicensed freelance pharmaceutical supplyman, they rarely know how to use it properly and we can guide you if you need help or have more questions. Thanks, pattishan61

With all due respect to Pattishan, I have to disagree. However, I have also noticed there are differences here from person to person. Now let me explain that I'm not saying Sub will prevent another drug from making you sick, or even possibly killing you if you mix too much with Sub. But I'm assuming you're asking if Sub will prevent you from getting a high off other non opiate drugs. If that's what you're asking, then for me Sub does that. For example, ever since I went on Sub I can't even catch a buzz from alcohol. I really don't drink anymore, but almost every year I have tried to go out on birthday and have a few beers, and get a little silly. Well, I can forget it, this no longer works for me. When I drink now, I get tired, hungry, and I go home eat and go to sleep. I even get bloated on beer, which never used to happen to me. So I haven’t had a buzz from beer since before I went on Sub.

However, I know of a young man who can still get high off alcohol. But I can't. And since this happened, I decided to try smoking a bowel, purely for research purposes. It did something to me, but not what it used to do. I also tried taking Chantix to help me quit tobacco. I felt like the Sub and the Chantix were competing for the same receptors. I had to give up the Chantix. I never felt a high from Benzos, and I still don't. But Benzos will still relieve my anxiety.

THOR, thank you for answering that and I do agree that subs does different things to different people. If I had a drink while on subs, it hit me very hard and almost immediately put me to sleep. I guess I should have said, technically it doesn't block other meds, but I totally agree with ya about different things to different people. Some men are having a different problem also, it can bottom the testosterone level out, not listed as a side effect either. Even relatively young men in their 30's found out they had LOW-T while on subs. It definitely is the strangest med ever. I had my female hormone panel run plus the testosterone level (testosterone helps protect women's bones, helps us fight pain etc) female hormones were low, testosterone was fine for a female in me. I also had a weird paranoid feeling while on subs, so, when I tapered off and that stopped, I felt better.

Each person is so different but I do feel it helped reset my pain relieving system in my brain as I can now take Tylenol or Advil and they work now, was like taking tic tacs before subs. I am always so glad when someone who has some experience with subs answers as it is the strangest med, one the patients seem to know more about than the drs. Our counselor was terrified someone would take subs and benzos and quit breathing, she tested us randomly and warned us it could happen, guess that's why I am so scared it will happen to someone. One member here did take a huge dose of benzo on subs (she had just started it and went into precip) and her neighbor found her struggling to breathe and called 911. All things relative, she had taken 20 xanax I think, and perhaps that alone could have caused breathing issues, just glad someone got her to the ER. thanks Thor for adding your input, you always give very excellent detailed answers, I learn from you, thank you. Pattishan

20 Xanax at once is an insane amount. Even if they were the white .25 mg, that would be 5 mg all at once. That's way too much, even if someone takes Xanax for chronic anxiety, 5 mg at once is too much. And I bet whoever took the 20 at once took either the .5 mg or even 1 mg tabs. That person is lucky they didn't die. Sub or no Sub.

What you said about the way alcohol effected you on Sub is similar to me. I guess I should tell you I was once an avid drinker. I was what we called the Weekend Warrior. I was sober all week at work, but I spent Fri and Sat nights partying and drinking. But I quit drinking about 2 years before I went on Sub because I simply didn't enjoy it anymore. I guess I grew out of it. My big problem was Pot. I ruined my life with Pot. I was truly addicted to Pot. All the things in the definitions of addiction is what I did with Pot. I quit Pot in 2002 but only because I was flat broke. But I am very happy that I am free from it. Nowadays, if someone lights it up around me and I even smell it burning I get pissed off. People who know me know not to smoke it in front of me. I understand most folks can smoke it and never do what I did. But I now hate that stuff. Just as a side note, I was never addicted to opiates. I don't even like opiates. All I ever liked was that they relaxed me and helped me sleep. But so long as I had a doc who gave me a Benzo to help sleep, I would never take an opiate. So I didn't get hooked on opiates until I started to have chronic pain. Right now I'm lucky because between Sub and the Lidoderm patches and Tylenol, I'm handling my pain issues.

When I first went on Sub 7 years ago there was all kinds of mystery surrounding it. This was stupid to do, but I wanted to see if it blocked the high from Pot. I was curious. It doesn't block it, but it sure changed the effects. As for the beer, I wanted to go have a few beers in a club on my birthday. I was never addicted to alcohol neither, so I figured a few beers for my birthday wouldn't hurt. I was disappointed to see that I can no longer feel the alcohol buzz. I don't really care, because I wouldn't be drinking it anymore anyway. But Sub seems to block feeling high from everything with me.

I'm having a problem with generic Sub and anxiety. I'm hypersensitive to Naloxone, so I can't use Suboxone. I was on the Name Brand Subutex for 5 years, and it was the best 5 years of my adult life. I went off it due to pain issues, and now I'm back on it about 5 months again. I already have anxiety issues and sleep problems. I generally use .5 mg of Ativan or Xanax for this. But this generic Sub causes even more anxiety, and the current doc doesn’t want to give me enough Ativan, Xanax, or even Klonopin works. I dare say this doc is something of an idiot. I'm very careful with Benzos, because I don't want to become dependent. But when I need some, I need some. So I need a new doc.

You said you had 1 drink on Sub and went straight to sleep. I can have about 4 or 5 beers, if I force myself, but then I also go to sleep. But there's no feeling of intoxication first. I had once hoped Sub would effect everyone the way it effects me. But sadly, it doesn't. If it did, it could have been a treatment for many different addictions.

sorry folks i got a shaky WiFi connection, this is the original poster of the question. Suboxone indirectly affects other neurotransmitter systems indirectly I bet by affecting the action of endogenous bodily endorphins.

Ok been 20 minutes did my methadone (nasally). Subjectively I'd have do say the suboxone I took those 3 days ago are only blocking may be 5 or 10% of the euphoria other wise I'm back to normal I hope. I've looked AND researched about this matter, the only literature I found was on a new treatment using pure nalaxone to cure people of alcohol cravings

AN

Anonymous18 Jul 2011

Hey Zorro, if you are new here, Welcome. Yeah, sometimes it takes a while before they post newcomers answers, some sort of monitoring goes on, and they are trying to prevent crazy answers, drug seeking, drug dealing and spam. But it does depend on who is monitoring it, as to how long it takes to post and some crazy things and some drug dealing attempts still get thru. When they are doing site maintenance, the site does crazy stuff to, it might keep telling you to sign in and then won't let you, may shoot you off to a different post, attribute your answer to someone else, or just be slow in general. Usually they work on it at night in the US, but if it seems to be doing weird stuff, they are working on it. I really am not sure what to tell you in regards to your question of restarting methadone, it may still be blocked or it do something else. Look up nalxone, suboxone, and subutex in Wikipedia.org. I swear i read there subs does block endorphins because of the naloxone.

I am not an expert on any of this. What's more I have very limited experience with Methadone. There is 1 doc who put me on it in 1997 for a short time, and the same doc was giving it to me last winter. However, I do have extensive experience with Sub. Based on my experience and what I know, you best decide whether you want to use Methadone or Sub, and not mix them. The Bupe in Sub is not a typical opiate, and neither is Methadone. Beyond that I'll tell you that this past winter was the 3rd time I've had to induct onto Sub, and it was very hard. The other 2 times were much easier. Someone told me it was so hard because I had been on Methadone for a short time. So just be careful. It seems some people like Methadone, and others prefer Sub. I was trying to use Methadone because I think (not certain) that it's a stronger pain killer than Sub. But Methadone doesn't seem to agree with my body. I had a bad time with it in 1997, and now I did again this year. So I guess Methadone is off limits for me. But I am pretty certain you shouldn't try to use both Sub and Mdone.

Honestly I had to use bup because I ran out of my by-weekly methadone script early. My end goal is to be med free again, but right now I do not feel strong enough to permanently leave meth/d. Before my 35th birthday I would like to have maid the switch and then tapper of bup completely, any pain or anxiety/depressive issues I could work through on my own.Back in 1998 I began having massive heart stopping panic attacks, witch lead to a 6 year benzo addiction (95% doctor supplied) The main benzo wich was given to me was clonazapam. I took on average 3 to 5mgs a day of that with one intintional overdose of 45mg combined with alchohol (2002). As far as that goes I have a family now and never have or would try and overdose with methadone., I do have an interesting question wich I will post now I think

I have come to pretty much believe that no one dies before their time. I guess you weren't meant to die. However, even though I'm saying this, I don't think anyone should tempt God. Because one never does know. But due to both my usual depression, and my depression being made much worse by Morphine, I tried to commit suicide last Dec. Now I can say that maybe I didn't try hard enough, but actually I think I just wasn't meant to die. Here's 1 reason. I have a divorced friend who went to visit his ex wife and kids. When he got there the kids weren't home, and his ex was lying in bed unconscious with red bloody sheets. She was still breathing so he called an ambulance. She had every intention of dying. So she cut her wrists, and took something to knock her out. She thought to slowly bleed to death while sleeping. But whatever she took to induce the sleep, also caused her blood to partially clot. She might have died anyway, but her ex came over and called the paramedics. She had no idea he was coming. So she lives. I say it wasn't her time to die. I also used to scuba dive when I was younger, and I got lost inside a ship wreck once. Back then divers died every summer going inside ship wrecks. But I found my way out.

So what happened to the interesting question you were going to post? Did you post it else where? Depending on what it is, maybe I could take a try at answering it.

All total I've had two overdose attempts, one was before the last I discoursed. My life was spiraling out of control, out of self medication, self indulgence, and self pity. Came home to my apartment one afternoon and realized the phone had been disconnected, that was my last straw. I had a full script of 120 1mg clonazepames, and a liter of Puritanical 151. Since God new it wasn't my time I chose to drink first and about half way through the rum I went to the back porch to smoke one last smoke, thats all I remember, till my buddy wok me up at 7 with a ride to work. I was alive obviously with a splitting head-ache. I looked over at the table the full bottle of pills was unopened .

Man I was serious I had a suicide not written out on the front door, lol mostly blaming then Florida Gov. Jeb Busch about all the tough DUI laws that were destroying, that he'd recently enacted.

My new Question is about a proposed new treatment using naltrezone and taking that a step further

Ah Zorro, I know a little about Naltrexone. My doc would like me to try it, but that's because my doc doesn't believe I'm in pain. I should get a new doc. But this guy is on the inexpensive side. Man O Man, the things we do for money. Shame.

On another board I read a few posts from a man who said he was on Low Dose Naltrexone, or LDN. That means 4 mg and it must be taken before you go to sleep. The dude said this stuff works while your body slumbers. He said he always woke up before his alarm clock went off, and he woke up feeling very good. He said he has more energy now than he's ever had. I think I read some where else, that LDN is supposed to make permanent changes in the brain so that eventually you can stop taking it and still feel OK. And then my doc told me new experiments are being done with ultra low dose Naltrexone, meaning less than 1 mg a day. The first problem for me or you is that you have to be off all opiates for 11 days before you can take LDN otherwise it will put you into some kind of withdrawal. My doc says he has an answer for that. He says he uses Zofran to wean people off opiates because (he says) Zofran stops the withdrawal symptoms. I don't know how true and accurate any 0f this is. I'm just telling you what I've heard. Do you have a speedy broadband Internet connection? That means cable or DSL. I do not. If I did, I'd do this for you, and give you a link. Why don't you google Low Dose Naltrexone Forums, and see if there are any. I'd want to hear from more people who have used it. LDN is supposed to fight depression in the same ways Sub does.

Hi. I am so behind on getting back to so many wonderful people on here. I have been on subutex for 2 and 1/2 years now and I hate it. I miss having a few beers and feeling silly but the same thing happens to me where I just get tired and hungry. I am currently trying to get off of the subutex but having a tough time. I miss feeling. You know what I mean? I miss really feeling the music, the natural highs in life. I am trapped. I do take klonopin and it does seem to help more than if I was off the subutex. I went cold turkey off the subutex last winter for 17 days and the anxiety was unbearable. My daughter thinks maybe switching to methadone and then getting off that might help but just the word methadone scares me. Which medication do you prefer? The methadone or subutex/suboxone. I wonder if you could have a few beers on methadone? I don't know if I helped but if you want to ask me something else I'd be happy to answer you. Good luck. Laura :)

I realize your post is probably meant for Zorro, but I want to ask you a few things. You said you're on Subutex. Do you mean Subutex or Suboxone? If you do indeed mean Subutex, are the pills you take white and round? If yes, are they the only Sub pills you ever took? I may be completely off base here, and I apologize if I am. I have a lot more to tell you if I'm right. So I have to wait for some answers from you.

If you really want to get off Sub completely, there are others here who can advise you better than me. All I know is that you usually have to do a very slow taper. The slower the better. I also know certain prescription and non prescription drugs can help. My new doc says Zofran stops withdrawal symptoms. I know Clonidine and Baclofen help with the nervousness and the shakes. And Trazodone can help you to sleep.

Hi. Yes I am on subutex. Just a couple of months ago I switched to the generic round white pill called bup... I had some old suboxone pills that I found and they were making me sick (I think because of the naloxone in them or they expired). In the beginning I was given suboxone but then the doctor switched me to the subutex because I didn't need the naloxone. I take a 2 mg pill in the morning and either 1 or 2 mgs in the late afternoon. I was in the hospital and was given some comfort drugs but nothing really seemed to help much. I was taking neurontin and it did help me sleep but had to ween myself off of that because my body got used to taking that and when I tried to stop cold turkey I felt sick and had the sweats. I'm not sure if this was the thread that had a comment about a doctor saying that this type of depression may not be helped by antidepressants and I think I can understand what he was saying. By the way I cut a 20 mg.

lexapro in half about an hour ago and now I cant settle down. I hope I can sleep tonight. I even took 1 mg of xanax. The type of depression that someone has after using opiates for a long time can be both serotonin related and also your opiate receptors not working on their own and unfortunately there is nothing they can give you to help the depression you get when your opiate receptors are not working yet. I think it just takes time for them to start working again on their own and probably excercising is one of the best things you can do for that. The problem is that it's hard to exsercise when you feel terrible. I know I spelled that wrong, lol I always spell that wrong and I have to learn how to spell it correctly, lol Hope to hear from you soon. Laura :)